When I look at Settings, General, Usage, Available on my iPads and iPhones the amount of Available storage is always different than the amount reported by iTunes under the Summary page. iTunes always reports a larger amount on all devices, sometimes by a GB or more. I know this is common but does anyone know the reason for the discrepancy? Seems that it would be pretty easy for iTunes to detect the actual usage. Thanks....
Sorry, I don't have a definite answer for you. At least this reply will sort of serve as a bump. It seems like other people also experience that, but don't know why. See these two related (but older) forum posts: Available storage is different in phone settings and iTunes? and itunes/iphone iOS storage discrepancy, causing music syncing issues
Oh, and congrats on becoming a level three. -AJ
Thanks AJ. Perhaps others will also share their thoughts. It is not an important issue for me but would like to know why.
Hello elcpu,
From what I understand the iTunes storage bar will show an estimation of what the storage will be on the device after each sync. Not necessarily what is currently on the device.
For example, If you select to sync a movie or other content to your device the storage bar at the bottom of iTunes will show an increased usage even though you have not actually transferred that content over to the iPhone/iPad.
iTunes should be checking the iPhone/iPad to see how much data "Documents & Data" and "Other" is being used but it is often a rounded number and not as accurate or as broken down as when displayed on the iPhone/iPad. Any content that cannot be syncing through iTunes can be displayed in the iTunes storage bar as Other, Documents & Data, or not even listed.
I hope this information is correct as it's what I was told by AppleCare support when working on a issue with "Other" taking up several GBs. From little tests that I have done with my own library it seems to be fairly accurate although difficult to keep track of. I hope this helps out.
Hi wdouglas4, thanks for your reply. I understand what "Other" is and have done a complete reset & restore to wipe most of it out on occasion (of course it starts growing again). I also understand that the bar at the bottom of iTunes is an estimate but on my own devices, iPhone and iPad, the discrepancy can be quite large, 1-2 GBs. This is the case even after doing a sync which at that point would be the time when both readings should be as close as they could get. Hope someone can shed more light as to why. This is not an issue, just a desire to understand.
Different “Available” amounts reported by iPhone and iTunes
